Exhibit Of Thomas Nast Political Cartoons At University Of Saint Joseph

Elections of 1872, 1876 In Focus

The political and social hot-button issues of the 21st century — the economy, Wall Street meltdown, foreclosures, military spending, labor vs. capital, the immigration and assimilation of religious minorities, contested elections — are nothing new. The new exhibit at the University of Saint Joseph in West Hartford shows marked similarities between the current situation in the United States and that of the elections of 1872 and 1876.

The hard-fought battles between incumbent Ulysses S. Grant and challenger Horace Greeley, and four years later between Samuel Tilden and Rutherford B. Hayes, are the focus of "The Noise of Democracy," a show of political cartoons by the legendary Thomas Nast, which were published in Harper's Weekly.

The exhibit, drawn from the university's permanent collection, opens on Thursday, Sept. 20.

Nast, a German immigrant, a brilliant draftsman and staunch Republican, is known as the father of American political cartooning. He is most famous for his creation of an elephant to represent the Republican Party and for the first modern vision of Santa Claus. He also popularized the use of Uncle Sam and the Democratic donkey.

The donkey, the elephant, Uncle Sam and Columbia, to represent Nast's idealized vision of what America should be, are amply represented in the exhibit.

Nast, in his heyday, had the power and influence to create or destroy politicians, and he saved his most vicious attacks for Greeley, both because he was a very good friend of Grant and because Greeley was such an easy target, according to Ann Sievers, curator of the exhibit.

"Because Greeley was editor of the New York Tribune, Nast had a perfect setup to character-assassinate Greeley," Sievers said. "He could use his own words against him."

So many of the cartoons blasting Greeley are captioned with past quotes from Greeley's paper. Nast's "Bringing the Thing Home," a cartoon criticizing what he saw as Greeley's heartlessness toward defeated Southerners after the Civil War, is captioned: "When the rebellious traitors are overwhelmed in the field and scattered like leaves before an angry wind, it must not be to return to peaceful and contented homed. They must find poverty at their firesides and see privation in the anxious eyes of mothers and the rags of children."

Greeley is often seen with a book in his pocked, "What I Know About ... ," Nast's parody of a book Greeley wrote, "What I Know About Farming." And echoing today's sentiment that a vice presidential candidate is often little more than an appendage, Nast portrayed Greeley's running mate, Benjamin Gratz Brown, as a clothing tag hanging from Greeley.

"Nast put the tag there at first because he didn't know how to draw Gratz Brown," Sievers said. "But he decided to keep it. It reduces Brown to a nonentity on Greeley's coattails."

Between the elections of 1872 and 1876, Nast dealt with a depression and his growing hatred for immigrant Irish Catholics, who at the time were trying to set up their own schools so that the Bible used in public schools, which was a Bible preferred by Protestants, would not be read to their children.

"Nast was a very strong person and had a lot of interesting opinions. He was very much a man of his time," Sievers said.

Nast's attacks on Tilden primarily took the form of slams against the corrupt New York City Democratic boss, William Tweed, Nast's longtime enemy. "Tilden brought down Boss Tweed, but he came late into the game. He prosecuted him, but there were suspicions he was kind of a sham reformer," Sievers said. "He only got on board when the writing was on the wall and he wanted to be associated with the reformers."

Suspiciously absent from Nast's 1876 work are images of Hayes. "Nast was enthusiastic about Grant, but not Hayes," Sievers said.

Sievers admits that the cartoons may cause mixed feelings among viewers. "You read what's in there and you think, I don't agree with that opinion," she said. "But they're all drawn so beautifully."

THE NOISE OF DEMOCRACY: THOMAS NAST AND THE ELECTIONS OF 1872 AND 1876 opens at the Art Gallery, in Bruyette Athenaeum at University of Saint Joseph, 1678 Asylum Ave. in West Hartford, on Thursday, Sept. 20, with a talk for members by Director Ann H. Sievers at 5:30 p.m. followed by a public reception from 6 to 7:30 p.m. The exhibit will be up until Sunday, Dec. 9. Gallery hours are Tuesday, Wednesday, Friday and Saturday 11 a.m. to 4 p.m.; Thursday 11 a.m. to 7 p.m. and Sunday 1 to 4 p.m. Details: http:// http://www.usj.edu/nod.